Today we celebrate Gita Jayanti, which is an annual celebration to commemorate the day when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the first day of the battle of Kurukshetra. Recital of the Bhagavad Gita is performed throughout the day in most ISKCON centers throughout the world.

Celebrating Bhagavad Gita Jayanti
by Subhamoy Das

The Bhagavad Gita is considered the most important and influential Hindu scripture for its philosophical, practical, political, psychological and spiritual value. Bhagavad Gita Jayanti, or simply Gita Jayanti, marks the birth of this holy book. According to the traditional Hindu calendar, Gita Jayanthi falls on the Ekadashi day of Shukla Paksha or the bright half of the Margashirsha month (November-December).

The Birth of the Gita and Origin of Gita Jayanti

Gita Jayanti is an annual celebration to commemorate the day when Lord Krishna rendered his philosophical teachings – immortalized in the epic Mahabharata – to prince Arjuna on the first day of the 18-day battle of Kurukshetra. When prince Arjuna refused to fight against his cousins, the Kauravas in the battle, Lord Krishna expounded the truth of life and the philosophy of Karma and Dharma to him, thereby giving birth to one of the world’s greatest scriptures, the Gita.

There are original, unrevised, first edition, unadulterated, bona fide sets of Srimad-Bhagavatam available. This has been confirmed and duly reconfirmed by devotees in England, Australia and America. I humbly suggest that you should take advantage of this opportunity while they are still available.

With regards,

Yours in Srila Prabhupada’s service and in the service of His bona fide disciples.

“This Srimad Bhagavatam is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Srimad Bhagavatam.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.43)

Today being the New Year, a Holiday celebrated around the world, we thought we would post a festive recipe. This Gulab Jumaun recipe was taken from the very nice cooking web page Cooking with Kurma. I encourage you all to try this wonderful recipe on your friends and family.

Succulent Milk Balls in Rose-scented Syrup (Gulab Jamuns)

Gulab Jamuns are ideal confections for festive moments and entertaining. When guests are confronted with them for the first time they invariably ask, “What are they? ” Guesses then range from preserved fruits to doughnuts. In fact, Gulab Jamuns are made from just milk powder and flour. They’re fried slowly in ghee until the lactose in the milk powder caramelises and turns them a golden brown, and then they are soaked in a rose-scented, medium- heavy sugar syrup. Hence, the Hindi words Gulab Jamun meaning literally “rose ball”.

In reading many of the profiles of Srila Prabhupada, I’m saddened that a number of his important projects, programs and achievements are never mentioned. In the following summary I’ve tried to compile a more comprehensive list of his credits. Although this list is also incomplete, I hope it presents a fuller picture of Srila Prabhupada’s greatness.(Paratrika Ananda das)

A Summary of Srila Prabhupada’s Miraculous Accomplishments from 1965 to 1977

In 1965, at seventy years of age, he ventured outside India for the first time to fulfill the order of his spiritual master. During his voyage at sea, he suffered two severe heart attacks. He reached the shores of America with the equivalent of seven dollars to his name.

He founded the International Society for Krsna Consciousness with a small group of disciples, after a year of struggling alone in New York City. This marked the only time in history that a Krsna devotee successfully trained non-Indians in the strict disciplines of Vaisnavism. Amazingly, this was achieved during the blossoming of America’s hedonistic counterculture movement.

The following is from the first printing of “The Prominent Link” by Dhira Govinda dasa, which I read many years ago. I recently opened the book again just to refresh my memory, and be reminded again the prominent role Srila Prabhupada continues to play in our society. I have included a pfd link at bottom of post so anyone can have access to the entire new printing and supplementing articles. -V

Srila Prabhupada: The Prominent Link
by Dhira Govinda dasa

Many members of Srila Prabhupada’s movement who did not receive formal initiation from him experience Srila Prabhupada as the primary giver of direct transcendental knowledge. This empirical reality forms the basis of recognizing Srila Prabhupada as the prominent link to the parampara. Such a conception is supported by sastric descriptions of the essence of the initiation process, and by the delineation of the parampara described by Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Introduction

This paper presents a framework for understanding Srila Prabhupada’s position that is derived from a comprehension of Srila Prabhupada’s direct and personal relationship with the members of his movement. The central idea is that Srila Prabhupada is the prominent link to the parampara by virtue of being the prime deliverer of transcendental knowledge. We present these ideas in a mood of open-minded discussion and ask that the reader approach the material with a fresh perspective and a willingness to reexamine the issues.

Please accept my blessings. I am so much obliged to you for your valued cooperation in spreading my movement of Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world. I beg to acknowledge receipt herewith of your contribution of $19,000 (nineteen thousand dollars) for publication of my book, Krishna, now going to the press within the week.

Please note that every farthing of this money will be employed in the service of the Lord, and the Lord is so kind and grateful that He will bestow upon you benediction at least ten times more than that you have done for Him. It does not, however, mean that Lord Krishna is like a business man, and He bestows benediction when He is profited by our service. The Lord is full in Himself; He does not require our service, but if we render service unto Him in love and devotion, such action enriches our very existence.

Recently there was a post on Dandavats with a letter (at bottom of post) by the BBT Communications Team trying to justify their attempts to stop the distribution of the newly printed Original Srimad-Bhagavatams that Jitarati Prabhu has printed. I read the article with some interest, just to hear their argument and justification, for trying to stop the distribution of this fine set. But what was more interesting to me was the nice comment posted by Padmapani Prabhu.

His comment is as follows:

Hare Krishna Prabhus. Thank you for airing this matter publicly. I’ve been deluged with inquiries from concerned devotees around the world about this conflict and I’d like to get a better understanding of the details so that I can respond accurately. I was under the impression that devotees had reached an amicable agreement after the last court case that KBI (Krishna Books Inc.) could legally print Srila Prabhupada’s original books, so I was surprised and dismayed to learn that there is yet another court case on the horizon. Surely devotees can somehow or other work this out co-operatively between one another without resorting to expensive lawyers and creating even more bad publicity for Srila Prabhupada’s movement.

On a personal note, I’d like to mention that I served with Jitarati Prabhu back in the 70’s in both the Winnipeg and Montreal yatras. Due to Jitarati’s leadership and dedication to sankirtana, the Winnipeg temple was consistently number one in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books for years in the small temple category. Later Jitarati helped to spearhead large-scale collections for remodeling the old church in Montreal which is now the beautiful home of Sri Sri Radha Manohara. Although I haven’t seen Jitarati Prabhu for at least 40 years, I always remember him as a sincere and devoted disciple of Srila Prabhupada.

We all have our own slants in Krishna Consciousness, but Srila Prabhupada repeatedly told us that we should try and work together despite our differences. I know from personal experience in publishing a magazine for devotees back in the 80’s (The Vaisnava Journal) that we can get along no matter how far apart we might be on personal or philosophical issues. Devotees of all persuasions and from all camps — including the GBC — were communicating together on the same page, so I know it can be done. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Below are but a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which I hope will remind us all of the bigger picture and our collective duty to His Divine Grace. Thank you for listening.

“Now all my disciples must work combinedly and with cooperation to spread this Sankirtan Movement. If you cannot work together then my work is stopped up. Our Society is like one big family and our relationships should be based on love and trust. We must give up the fighting spirit and use our intelligence to push ahead.” (SPL to Upendra, August 6, 1970)

“We have so much work to do, we cannot lose our solidarity.” (SPL to Malati, January 7, 1974)

“Let us try to work cooperatively, otherwise the fighting spirit will ruin our great movement.” (SPL to Ramesvara, April 10, 1974)

“So we have to all cooperate amongst ourselves, otherwise what will people think if we ourselves fight with one another?” (SPL to Patita Uddharan, December 12, 1974)

“Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuntha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuntha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to his best ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuntha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.12, Purport)

“The presence of the Bhagavatam in any house makes the house sanctified and free of all inauspiciousness. Worshiping the Bhagavatam is equivalent to worshiping Lord Krsna. Hearing and reading the Bhagavatam is unalloyed devotional service. There are two meanings of the word “Bhagavat” – one is the book Srimad-Bhagavatam and the other is the person Bhagavat who is the personification of Lord Krsna’s mercy. By daily worshiping, studying and hearing the Srimad-Bhagavatam, one is actually elevated to become a person Bhagavat.” (Antya Lila Chapter 3)

Please note that BBT India is trying very hard (at the present moment) to completely destroy Srila Prabhupada’s original Books.

Bombay BBT filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit in India and had KBI’s associate Jitarati Prabhu’s beautiful Srimad Bhagwatam 5,000 boxed sets blocked from delivery to him at the printer’s warehouse. All the BBT trustees are involved in the law suit, untruthfully claiming that there is no legality to the printing. They are holding the already printed books hostage. Who knows for how long? BBT India has further applied to the court that the printed books should be destroyed.

BBT India is planning to have Srila Prabhupada’s original books completely banned from printing (in India and USA) by trying to revoke the licence given to KBI, claiming that the KBI given license has expired. BBT India wants to end the printing & distribution of unchanged, original books.

KBI – Krishna Books Inc is licensed by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust to print and publish the pre-1978 literary works of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

This is another fine compilation of quotes, in chronological order, put together by Prabhupada Connection, this time Srila Prabhupada blessing and praising George Harrison.

“When Bhaktivedanta Manor was donated, Srila Prabhupada said of George, ‘Because he has given shelter to Krishna by providing this temple, Krishna will surely provide shelter for him.’ Just before Srila Prabhupada left this world in 1977, he removed the ring on his right hand and said to the disciples around him, ‘This is for George, give it to him.'”

“I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, with very little sleep, he still didn’t come through to me as though he was a very highly educated intellectual being, because he had a sort of childlike simplicity. Which is great, fantastic. Even though he was the greatest Sanskrit scholar and a saint, I appreciated the fact that he never made me feel uncomfortable. In fact, he always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I always thought of him as sort of a lovely friend, really, and now he’s still a lovely friend.”

“That was the thing about Prabhupada, you see. He didn’t just talk about loving Krishna and getting out of this place, but he was the perfect example. He talked about always chanting, and he was always chanting. I think that that in itself was perhaps the most encouraging thing for me. It was enough to make me try harder, to be just a little bit better. He was a perfect example of everything he preached.”

Today as we are celebrating the appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu we are further reminded of the great senapati bhakta Srila Prabhupada who Lord Caitanya foretold would take the sankirtana movement everywhere.

…Lord Caitanya foretold the coming of an empowered devotee who would take the sankirtana process everywhere: “I want to flood the whole world with the chanting of the holy names. I will personally preach and flood India with harinama sankirtana, chanting of the holy names. And My senapati bhakta (great devotee commander) will come, preach in different countries and flood the world with the chanting of Hare Krishna.” This means that, though Sri Caitanya came to establish and spread the process of congregational chanting of Krishna’s names in India, there would be one great devotee who would appear and spread it throughout the world.

Today we honor not only Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu but his empowered devotee as well with this nice biography written by Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandananda dasa).

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

by Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)

In the Brahma-vaivarta Purana, in a conversation with Ganga Devi, Lord Krishna describes that after 5,000 years of Kali-yuga have passed, His mantra upasaka, the great sage and worshiper of Krishna’s holy names, will appear and spread the chanting of Krishna’s names (in the form of the Hare Krishna mantra) not only in India but throughout the world. Lord Krishna explains that by the chanting of His holy names the world will become spiritualized and everyone will be hari-bhaktas, engaged in the process of devotion to the Supreme. The purified devotees will visit the holy places and holy rivers of India and will purify them. They will also purify those with whom they come in contact. Thus, Sri Krishna predicted the appearance of a powerful devotee who would spread the chanting of His names worldwide.

It has come to our attention that a very special Vaisnava devotee of the Lord, Prahlad Nrsimha Prabhu (Philip Vahovich), has left his body. Prahlada Nrsimha Prabhu was a famous book distributer of Srila Prabhupada’s original books, and the creator of the very important Krishna Path website. Krishna Path, is the official source for free download of Srila Prabhupada’s original books. Prahlad Nrsimha’s service can not be overstated. He has reached so many souls through his preaching efforts, and will be gravely missed.

Today we celebrate the advent of the Bhagavad-gita, or the day that Sri Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to his dearmost devotee and friend Arjuna,at the place known as Kurukshetra. We happened upon a nice post, which is a summary of the 18 chapters of Bhagavad-gita, on the Sampradaya Sun, followed by the Sri Gita Mahatmya, which is chanted after the recitation of the Gita, and we share it with you today.

The summaries of chapters 9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 & 18 are directly taken from the BG study guide of HG Gauri prabhu of Vrindavan Gurukul. The other chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 were compiled by Subala prabhu, who compiled the entire study overview for the devotees of the Bhagavad Gita Forum.

Sri Gita Jayanti
Dec 09, 2016 — USA (SUN)

The Advent of Sri Bhagavad-gita is observed on this day.

Traditionally This is the anniversary day commemorating the day that Srimad Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Lord Sri Krishna to His dearmost devotee Arjuna at the place now known as Jyotisar Tirtha, amid the warring families of the Kurus and the Pandavas at Kurukshetra. One can still visit that place and see the monument erected there with Krishna as Parthasarati (the chariot driver) and Arjuna the warrior on their chariot. It is claimed by the ashram who maintains the shrine that the tree next to Them is a continuum growth of the original tree witness that was there at the actual day of speaking.

Traditionally, devotees come to Kurukshetra (Dharmakshetra) and recite Bhagavad-gita from early morning until the next morning, perform arati to Bhagavad-gita and to Krishna and Arjuna upon the chariot, offer lamps, ‘dheep daan’, at Brahma Sarovar, and give shloka recitals, shobha yatras and seminars on the significance of the Gita today.

Devotees who cannot get to Jyotisar Tirtha remember the blessed event by reciting Bhagavad-gita, performing Bhagavad-gita ahuti of each verse or selected chapters into the sacred fire, and discussing the subject matter of Bhagavad-gita in the association of devotees. Distribution of Bhagavad-gita As It Is on this day is a very auspicious activity to perform.

“Although my Guru Maharaja ordered me to accomplish this mission, I am not worthy or fit to do it. I am very fallen and insignificant. Therefore, O Lord, now I am begging for Your mercy so that I may become worthy, for You are the wisest and most experienced of all.” (Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, on board the ship Jaladuta, September 13, 1965)

“It is all Krishna’s Grace that He has sent such a nice assistants to me, for executing the mission of my Spiritual Master. Personally, I am nonentity; I have come here on the order of my Spiritual Master, and He has kindly sent you all boys to assist me. So whatever is being done, there is no credit for me, but all the credit goes to my Spiritual Master, because He has arranged everything, and I am simply to abide by His order.” (Srila Prabhupada Letter, October 16, 1968)

“I am just trying to disseminate this message of my Spiritual Master and if there’s any credit for this service, everything goes to Him.” (Srila Prabhupada Letter, March 14, 1969)

…Regarding the government injunction, that is the worst situation of this age. The so called democratic government means some of the sudras, rascals without any knowledge of the highest aim of life. By hook and crook they get some votes and get the responsible chair in government. Naturally they can whimsically enact any law which is against the interest of the people in general. According to the Vedic literature, the government’s first duty is to see whether people are following the rules and regulations of varnasrama dharma. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita also. Without coming to the system of Varnasrama dharma there is no question of human society. (Letter to: Madhudvisa Kenya 15 September, 1971)

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That’s all. This kind of election is rascal election. It has no meaning. Therefore the public must know whom to elect and how to elect. That should be our propaganda. Because nowadays it is democratic government, teach people how to select the real leader. Real leader means who does not commit mistake, who is not illusioned, who does not cheat and who has no imperfect senses, who has, or, other words, one who has got perfect senses. So if you say, “How it is possible for the conditioned soul?” “Yes, it is possible if you follow the perfect.” Just like we are doing. We are following Kṛṣṇa. He does not commit mistake, He is not illusioned, His senses are not imperfect, and He does not cheat. We are following. Therefore, although we are imperfect, because we are following the perfect, our proposition is perfect. A child may be illiterate, but when he’s taught, “Write A like this,” and he follows that, he becomes literate. This is the policy. (Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk Conversation December 12, 1973, Los Angeles)